Austin Elite Rugby hosted the Seattle Seawolves at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas on Saturday, March 16, but despite their quality performance, the Seawolves left with a 29-17 win.
Austin Elite Rugby has been competitive but is still seeking its first win, while the Seawolves are in second-place in the MLR standings.
Austin Elite will travel to New Orleans to play NOLA Gold on March 21, while the Seawolves have a bye and will host the San Diego Legion on March 31.
Match Recap
Austin Elite Rugby played some of their best rugby of the season against the Seattle Seawolves. Austin scored first with a try by Tiaan Erasmus and a conversion by Mickael Romera for a 7-0 lead and pushed the lead to 14-0 after a break by JP Aquirre and an offload to Soheyle Jaoudat for a try.
The Seawolves answered back in the 20th minute from a 5-meter scrum, with Riekert Hattingh barging over for a try with Brock Staller then converting.
Austin Elite Rugby took advantage of a Seawolves penalty with Romera slotting a kick for a 17-7 lead.
A high tackle penalty then allowed the Seawolves to attack from a lineout with Dan Trierweiler scoring from a maul and Staller converting to cut the lead to 17-14. Another penalty in the final minute, resulted in a Staller penalty goal to knot the score at 17 all at the break.
Second Half
Austin Elite Rugby held off a Seawolves attack from a 5-meter scrum, causing a penalty and allowing Austin to clear. Later, however, Austin Elite lost an attacking chance after a lineout throw was not straight.
Both teams continued their back and forth play until Brad Tucker scored from a lineout in close for a 22-17 lead.
In the 73rd minute, Mo Abdelmomem was sent to the bin and the Seawolves sealed the match with a Riekert Hattingh try for a 29-17 win.
Austin Elite Rugby played one of their best matches in the season and pushed the Seawolves to the brink before losing. Austin Elite Rugby will hope to continue their improved play next week in New Orleans.
Squads with Player Article Links & Match Preview
Austin Elite Rugby: 1 Chris Schade 2 Tiaan Erasmus 3 Juan Echeverria 4 Ben Mitchell (C) 5 Josh Larsen (VC) 6 Rikus Zwart 7 Moe Abdelmonam 8 Travis Larsen 9 Mickaël Romera 10 Rodrigo Sliva 11 Alex Faison Donahoe 12 JP Aguirre 13 Sione Fangaiuiha14 Ratu Peni Tagive 15 Soheyl Jaoudat 16 Dominique Bailey 17 Brendan Rams 18 LaRome White19 Dylan Pieterse 20 Kyle Breytenbach 21 Marcelo Torrealba 22 Reece Czarnecki 23 Aidan McMullan + Head Coach Alain Hyardet
Seattle Seawolves: 1 Kellen Gordon 2 Dan Trierweiler 3 Tim Metcher 4 Brad Tucker 5 Taylor Krumrei 6 Eric Duechle 7 Aladdin Schirmer 8 Riekert Hattingh 9 JP Smith 10 Ben Cima 11 Sequoyah Burke-Combs 12 George Barton 13 William Rasileka 14 Brock Staller15 Peter Tiberio 16 Stephan Coetzee 17 Olive Kilifi 18 John Hayden 19 Jérémy Lenaerts 20 Nakai Penny 21 Phil Mack 22 Roland Suniula 23 Dion Crowder
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